Thursday, May 28, 2009

1st Grade End of the Year Party

It's hard to believe that today was the last day of 1st grade. Olivia had a great year and has matured more than I thought possible over the last nine months. She looks forward to reading now and has a list of books that she wants to read over the summer. She was excited when I told her that I found a 2nd grade workbook for her to work in this summer. We've also got a plan to have a Summer Journal so that she can keep up her hand-writing skills and use her imagination.

The 1st Grade party was a big success today. The party started with a magician who was hilarious and kept the entire 1st grade in stitches. He did everything from juggle a bowling ball and saw a student volunteer in half to pulling the obligatory rabbit out of a hat - and had lots of corny jokes in between which the kids loved. McIver's eyes got bigger with each trick. I predict a magic kit on McIver's future Christmas wish list!

After the magic show, lunch and recess, the kids decorated water bottles, ate popsicles, had their faces painted and got their own tattoos. It was a hot day, but there was plenty of shade for everyone.

The water bottles came in handy.McIver is so sad that he won't get to go to Kolter for Kindergarten. I found him sitting on this bench all by himself in the courtyard during the party. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied: Just sitting and enjoying nature.

When the party was over, we went back to the class room so Olivia could clean out her desk. Mrs. Hartman posed for one last picture with Olivia and her best buddies from Mrs. Hartman's class.McIver ran through the lunchroom on our way out and found Mr. Royal, the head custodian. He's the sweetest, most gentle man and he loves each and every child at Kolter (and all of their siblings!). He is most definitely an integral part of Kolter - he even spent the night of Hurricane Ike's arrival at school to be sure everything was safe and secure.

Anyway, McIver met Mr. Royal on the first day of school last year and looked for him every Tuesday when we went to school to stuff the weekly folders. We're going to miss him, so McIver asked for a picture which Mr. Royal was happy to pose for.